


Home for Christmas

by bangyababy



Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types
Genre: Canon Divergence - Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Christmas Fluff, Fluff, Happy Ending, M/M, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Reunions, Steve Rogers Gets a Hug, Steve Rogers Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:41:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21948985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bangyababy/pseuds/bangyababy
Summary: Getting some much needed R&R in a cabin upstate, Steve can't quite shake the feeling someone is watching him.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers
Comments: 26
Kudos: 126
Collections: Stucky Secret Santa 2019





	Home for Christmas

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CobraOnTheCob](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CobraOnTheCob/gifts).



> I hope you like it!

Steve is just taking his cup out of the Kurieg when he hears the distinct snapping of twigs underfoot outside. He moves quickly to the sliding glass door, and stands with his back against the wall, just out of sight. He waits with bated breath, straining his ears as he tries to catch the sound again, but there’s nothing but long stretches of quiet until — _ snap! _

Steve peeks his head around the corner and sees a deer stumbling out of the snowy woods surrounding the cabin. He huffs out a breath, equal parts annoyed and amused at himself. 

“Great, now you’re going to fight a deer. Get yourself together, Rogers,” he mutters to himself, staying for just a moment to watch the deer and then getting back to his coffee.

He’s been in the cabin for a few days now. The getaway an early Christmas present from Tony. A week in the woods, to rest and paint and do other centenarian things as Tony put it. The whole team was going to come up in the evening on Christmas to celebrate, but for now, it’s just Steve and the woods. 

But with no real responsibilities but to enjoy his R&R well...he’s been a little on edge. That and he’s been unable to shake the feeling that he’s being surveilled even though he’s done a thorough sweep of the place and Tony has equipped it with the best security money can buy and then some. His therapist would likely classify that as paranoia. 

It has been nice, he supposes. It’s quiet out here and absolutely picturesque. He has been able to get some painting done and catch up on some pivotal movies he’d missed over the years. He’s also been able to clear his head a bit and think. The trouble with that was that he had time to  _ hear _ himself think, too. To think about things he had, things he didn’t, things he’d lost, things he  _ should _ be doing… 

He glances at the decorated tree, the tinsel shining easily in the morning light and tries not to let his eyes fall on the extra gift below the tree. The one he’ll have to hide before his team gets here or face varying degrees of pity and ridicule. But for now, he sees no harm in leaving it where it is. It’s a small comfort, but it’s something. 

Steve drinks his coffee and goes out to the wrap around porch with his easel and some paints. The cabin has a great view of the lake and he’s already painted it once up close, but he likes this vantage, too. Besides, something in him tells not to stray too far today. 

He paints for a few hours before his butt starts to get sore and he has to stand to stretch. He ventures inside to fix himself some lunch around three. He eats a huge bowl of soup and a grilled cheese sandwich as he watches an episode of Friends on his phone. That must be why he misses it, he thinks later. His headphones were in and he couldn’t hear well enough through them. 

Because by the time he gets back to the porch, someone has been there, he realizes. They didn’t take anything, hell he can’t even prove they  _ touched _ anything, but he can feel it. Steve doesn’t let on that he knows someone is there. Whoever it is will likely just run if they know they’ve been caught and Steve doesn’t take the time to analyze why he  _ doesn’t _ want them to run. 

Instead, he sits down and starts up his painting, his eye all that much sharper on the tree line. 

He runs through a list of people it could be. Hydra is at the top of the list—but how would they have found him unless there’s a leak somewhere. Next, the obvious choice is Natasha, trying to fuck with him to teach him a lesson about constant vigilance or some shit. It’s also highly likely a prank by Tony. The last option Steve can’t even begin to think about it. It’s too much to hope for. 

The sun is setting as he finishes the painting, it’s a good rendition, but a little safe, he thinks. His focus not really on the painting takes his time cleaning up his supplies. He leaves the easel out to dry on the porch while he heads inside. He dumps the paint on the table and heads to the security room, picking up his shield on the way. He types in the passcode on the door and closes it behind himself as he enters. He rewinds the footage from the back porch from the last few hours while he glances at the live feed. 

He watches the deer from earlier in the day stumble out and speeds up the footage but  _ there!  _ It’s the deer again, well  _ almost.  _ The trees rattle the same way over and over and it’s with a sinking feeling that he understands the footage he is watching is on a loop. He looks up at the live feed and curses. 

There are no cameras inside the house, but even if there were, Steve isn’t sure what good that would do him anyway. Whoever it is out there is good enough to get past all the sensors and tripwires surrounding the cabin, and hacked into the video feed. They’ve had the drop on him since the get go. 

So Steve does what he normally would—he bursts out of through the security room door shield at the ready. 

There is no one waiting for him on the other side of the door. Instead, he hears the telltale sign of a kettle boiling. 

Steve lowers his shield as he moves toward the kitchen, sighing as he realizes it really was Natasha all along. 

“You know,” Steve calls, “I did happen to catch that you’d been on the porch. And I saw you looped the footage. Seriously, Natasha, you don’t have to keep…” The words die in his throat as he takes in the shape of the person in his kitchen. 

“I don’t remember much, but I can say with full confidence I’m not Natasha. Sorry, pal.” Bucky turns around and gives Steve a hint of a smirk.

“Bucky?” Steve asks dumbstruck.

“So they say,” Bucky replies, pouring the hot water into two mugs. “They being mainly you and the Smithsonian.” 

Steve blurts, “What are you doing here?” because Bucky is standing in the kitchen of his rented cabin wearing tight jeans and a soft looking sweater in just his socked feet. His hair is pulled back, and his face looks only slightly guarded. After a year of looking, Bucky has finally come back to him.

“Well, it’s Christmas Eve,” Bucky says, stirring something into the mugs and Steve belatedly realizes it’s hot chocolate when he sees the marshmallows being plopped in. The sight is too normal, too domestic and it knocks the breath out of Steve with how much he wants to see it again. 

Bucky turns around to face him, mug in hand, an offering. But when he sees the look on Steve’s face he sets the mug back down and sighs. 

Slowly, Bucky approaches Steve, as if he’s afraid Steve will bolt or attack if he moves too fast and it strikes a chord in Steve about how the situations should be reversed. 

“Steve,” Bucky says, looking Steve in the eye as he takes his hand. “I’m here.” 

“Why did you run?” 

“I didn’t know what else to do. I didn’t know who I was, I only knew that whoever you were was important.” 

“Why didn’t you let me find you?” 

“It scared me how important I knew you were. How could you be the only thing I knew?”

Steve reaches up and touches Bucky’s cheek, and he almost pulls back because Bucky flinches at the contact, but settles into it a moment later. “I missed you,” Steve confesses. “I missed you so much. I’m so sorry I didn’t come find you when you—when you fell.” He trips over the words. 

Tightening his grip on Steve’s hand, Bucky pulls him a little closer. “Don’t. You couldn’t have known.”

“But I could have at least  _ checked, _ ” Steve protests. “When I read what they did to you—”

Bucky cuts him off, “Steve, please. Not right now. I know we have a lot to talk about. And I’m warning you, I’m still not anywhere near being okay. But, it’s Christmas, we have a warm place to sleep, plenty of food to eat, and we’re together. Isn’t that enough?” 

Steve wants to argue. He wants to get down on his knees and beg Bucky for forgiveness. He wants to go out and finish off every last Hydra member he can find. He wants to hold Bucky close to him and never let him go.

“It’s more than,” Steve whispers, fighting back tears. 

Bucky smiles softly at him. “You’ve always been a sentimental little punk, haven’t you?” 

“Buck,” Steve whines and then laughs when Bucky finally tugs him into a tight hug. He clings longer than he should, but hey, so does Bucky. Bucky pulls away and searches his face for a long while, his hand coming up to rest on the side of Steve’s neck and Steve is sure Bucky can feel his heartbeat jump underneath his palm. 

“I missed you, too, you know?” Bucky says. “I missed you more than anything.” Bucky leans forward and then hesitates, and Steve sees the flicker of fear pass across his face. But this time Steve is there to catch him and he’s going to do anything he can to make sure Bucky never feels like this again, so he leans forward to meet him halfway and presses their lips together. 

It lasts for all of five seconds, but Steve feels like some hidden part of him finally comes out of the ice. Steve buries his face against Bucky’s neck when the part and doesn’t feel bad about the few tears that fall onto Bucky’s shoulder. 

“Thank you, for coming home to me,” Steve whispers. 

“I promised I would,” Bucky replies. “Thank you for still being here.”

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! You can find me on [tumblr](http://bangyababy.tumblr.com) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/bangyababy)!


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